


The "Date"

by Eleih



Category: Free!
Genre: First Dates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-03
Updated: 2016-04-03
Packaged: 2018-05-30 21:37:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6441784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eleih/pseuds/Eleih
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In which Rei confronts his fear and acts on it...</p><p>sort of.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The "Date"

Rei was feeling particularly uncomfortable today. He hadn’t been able to sleep much the night before, since whenever he was on the edge of sleep, a voice called out to him from the void. It had been happening for weeks now. Faintly at first, but as he learned to swim it grew louder, sharper, more crisp. It entered him every waking moment, and much of his dreams. At first he ignored it, tried to block it out since, why would a voice so youthful and pure want anything to do with him. But it wouldn’t go away. Again and again, it called out to him, driving him mad. Mad with guilt, embarrassment. And another emotion, an emotion he had never felt before. The only way he could describe it was a physical manifestation of the freedom he desired. A balance of chaos and order that left him breathless and lightheaded. He had heard about this this emotion, but he was never sure it existed. The boys in his class muttered about it in excited tones while glancing over at their crushes. It was a childish thing, this emotion. But no matter how much he told himself this, the pounding of his heart would not stop. The cold sweats that ran down his back as he tossed and turned in the tight would not give way. He was sure of it now. It was love. He was in love with the voice that tormented him so. He had to do something about it, before it drove him insane. And more importantly drove the voice away. He embraced the voice and swam through it, soaking it in. This was never enough, he always needed more. And so that is why he was acting today. This is why he was so uncomfortable today. He was going to confront the voice. The voice that he loved. The voice of his beloved. 

“Rei-chan!” 

Rei shrank back into the wall, eyes darting back and forth, fists clenched and shaking. He had to do this. He needed to do this.   
“Hazuki-kun, I… aaaaahhhh… woul…” He didn’t usually stammer, but his teeth wouldn’t stop chattering and he couldn’t stop fumbling with the hem of his shirt.   
“It’s Nagisa, Rei-chan! What is it? Did you forget your swimming costume? I know we have practice today, but you of all people never forget your swimming costume.” Why was this going so wrong? He had stood, waiting for Nagisa, earlier than usual so that he could do this. The doubt was starting to creep in, an unwanted draft of fear.   
“Rei-chan, we will miss the train if we’re not careful, come on!” Nagisa laughed and the light fell on him like an aura. Rei couldn’t do it now. Why would anyone this happy ever be interested in him… 

He read during the train trip, but his focus was elsewhere. His thoughts were bombarded images and sounds and smells of Nagisa. Rei always loved the way Nagisa smelled, the nature cologne he perpetrated drove him mad internally, even if he criticised it outwardly. It was like ground cashews mixed with sea salt and basil. Ever so slight, but enough to drive him crazy. He tried to get back to his reading, studying, but out of the corner of his eye he could see the slight dip of his shoulder that bent down to a tricep that bulged against the school shirt. Not as big as Haru’s, but enough to be seen through the thin, ruffled cotton fabric. When Nagisa was teaching him to swim, it was those arms that held him while he careened around the pool like a duckling. It was those hands that held his hips, keeping him steady, keeping him safe. It was that stomach that pressed against him when he started to flounder, preventing him from sinking into oblivion. It was those…

“Rei-chan! You’ll miss your run!” The doors were closing and Rei had missed his chance to do his morning job to school. “It’s alright Rei-chan, now you can ride with me all the way to school.” Nagisa’s smile was dazzling and full of innocence. Rei loved that smile. When Nagisa smiled, he always tilted his head slightly, as if posing a question. Rei gulped and looked away while adjusting his glasses. He was blinded by that smile. 

He had to do it today, he had to know. Even if it would make the voice go away, he had to know if he could make this work. The agony of not knowing was too much to bear. He gulped again got ready. “Hazuki-kun… Nagisa… after swimming today… would you like to… and you don’t have to it’s better if you’re busy or whatever… would you like to go out for dinner tonight?” 

The tilt. The smile. The half-closed eyes that radiated happiness incarnate. What did he do to deserve this exquisite beauty?

“Sure, now let’s get class, right, Rei-chan!”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed, I am new to this so don't think to harshly of me if I didn't do something correctly. If I did something wrong in terms of the fandom please tell me (nicely) in a comment or something. I wrote this at the end of episode 6 of Free! season 1, so I understand some of it may not be correct.


End file.
